India evacuations 'saved lives'

Mass evacuations have spared India the widespread deaths many had feared from a powerful cyclone that roared ashore over the weekend, officials said. Nearly one million people were evacuated from the coast ahead of Cyclone Phailin making landfall.

Vice chairman Shashidhar Reddy told reporters in Delhi, "Another thing that has happened, it has moved on, it didn't remain stationary. So that has also helped, even though it was 200kph (124mph) wind speed."

Phailin weakened significantly after making landfall as a Category 4 storm, with sustained winds of up to 210kph (131mph), according to Indian meteorologists.

Cyclone Phailin powered its way inland over eastern India, leaving a swathe of destruction on Sunday but the loss of life appeared limited after more than half a million people sought safety in storm shelters.

Half-a-million people have been forced to flee their homes as India faced its biggest cyclone since the turn of the century.

Aid agencies are gearing up to help those worst affected by the storm, though the full extent of the damage - including a death toll - will not be known until daybreak.

People take shelter at a wedding hall after leaving their houses to take shelter from the impact of the approaching Cyclone Phailin. Credit: Reuters

Children's charity World Vision said its teams on the ground were already seeing signs of the storm.

Dharmendra Naik, manager of its programmes in Jagathsinghpur district, said: "Our staff along the coast have been seeing rain falling continuously and winds pick up. People have been trying to stock up on essentials and that has caused the price of many items to be driven higher."

India's weather department has warned mud houses faced destruction, as a powerful cyclone hit the eastern coastline. It said the disruption of power and communication lines and the flooding of railways and roads was likely.

"We already evacuated more than one lakh [100,000] people. So to that extent we are safe", said the Disaster Management Commissioner for Andhra Pradesh state, T Radha.